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To be a cop, you have to be a dick

Or at least the overwhelming majority of the time. There's no denying that police officers do a necessary service, but I would still insist that in order to routinely have the type of unpleasant confrontations police have with private citizens on a regular basis, you'd have to be a bit of a dick or worse. Even though these enforcements of law are often justified, as a cop, you are going to constantly be put in situations where YOU are the individual enacting the legal process that has the direct result of ruining someone else's life.

A person that doesn't have trouble punishing and bringing negativity to people for a living has to be callous. Why should we disregard the callousness of an individual just because of the possibility that their actions in this position are partially motivated by a dedication to justice?

About 75% of police I've met on a personal level were some of the kindest, warmest people ever. Your description of cops is how I would describe meter maids, clamp guys, and people who work at the towing lot (the one you have to pay to get your car back after it's been towed). Fining bad parkers is such a petty way to ruin someone's day, and the amount of good you're doing is disproportionate. Police, though (local police, anyway), often get into it because they want to protect the innocent and help people. Not always, but that's been the majority of my experience with police in Minnesota.

Well don't they say cops & criminals generally share a lot of the same personality traits/types, just obviously coming at it from different angles? Seems to make sense. To deal with dicks, being able to match that level of what you're dealing with day-to-day is probably a plus.

Well don't they say cops & criminals generally share a lot of the same personality traits/types, just obviously coming at it from different angles? Seems to make sense. To deal with dicks, being able to match that level of what you're dealing with day-to-day is probably a plus.

Yeah, I guess there are probably two kinds of cops, kind of like there are two kinds of soldiers. Some are out specifically because they believe in what they're doing and want to make the world a better place, to actually *protect* and all that. Others are just aggressive dicks who love having a job that gives them an outlet. Some from that second category might be kinds who share a lot in common with criminals, just from another angle.

Yeah, I guess there are probably two kinds of cops, kind of like there are two kinds of soldiers. Some are out specifically because they believe in what they're doing and want to make the world a better place, to actually *protect* and all that. Others are just aggressive dicks who love having a job that gives them an outlet. Some from that second category might be kinds who share a lot in common with criminals, just from another angle.

I agree, but I will say that I think the latter of both situations would be in the strong minority. I don't think there's really any way to measure this, so it would be a difficult theory to prove, but my own personal experience has led me to believe this.

Yeah, I guess there are probably two kinds of cops, kind of like there are two kinds of soldiers. Some are out specifically because they believe in what they're doing and want to make the world a better place, to actually *protect* and all that. Others are just aggressive dicks who love having a job that gives them an outlet.

I didn't necessarily mean it that way. I mean, a lot of those "dick" cops are probably responsible for the tougher more grisly stuff involved in keeping some sense of sanity in society. I'm sure there are plenty of "Dudley Do-Right" police officers out there too, it's probably just less common than most people might hope for. You want a certain degree of authority-projecting and standoffishness in someone who's upholding and enforcing, it doesn't necessarily make them bad guys if they're not crossing any lines.

I guess it just makes more sense if they ARE the kind of gruff, jock-in-highschool, "guy's guy" type, seems to go with the territory. Most armed-service professions probably attract a similar "type".

Since this conversation is entirely anecdotal, and since we're judging an entire profession arbitrarily, I will definitively state that all cops are dicks.

Though as a mild-mannered guy who never makes a scene in public and always speaks politely, I've had 100% negative experiences with cops. And yeah the two cops who ticketed me for jay-walking, definite dicks, though I resent the cops who confiscated my weed more.

I agree, but I will say that I think the latter of both situations would be in the strong minority. I don't think there's really any way to measure this, so it would be a difficult theory to prove, but my own personal experience has led me to believe this.

Originally Posted by Eskimo

I'm sure there are plenty of "Dudley Do-Right" police officers out there too, it's probably just less common than most people might hope for.

Heh, interesting that you said the opposite of each other... certainly is a very subjective topic.

Originally Posted by wheelchairman

Since this conversation is entirely anecdotal, and since we're judging an entire profession arbitrarily, I will definitively state that all cops are dicks.

Though as a mild-mannered guy who never makes a scene in public and always speaks politely, I've had 100% negative experiences with cops. And yeah the two cops who ticketed me for jay-walking, definite dicks, though I resent the cops who confiscated my weed more.

Hmm, I've had more good experiences than bad with cops. The one speeding ticket I got was from a dickhead, and I'm pretty sure that when I called for help in CZ because of some skinheads who were throwing rocks at my window and yelling at me, that the cops intentionally took their time and made sure they found nothing (the skinheads happened to leave RIGHT before the cops arrived... and it's common in that part of CZ that the cops are on the skinheads' side...) Otherwise, I've had at least 8 good experiences with cops.

To put it in more mature, workable terms, I would say that being a cop means that there is something about you that allows you to have a somewhat uncommon emotional disconnect from being the individual who is responsible for initiating the legal process that often ruins another person's life. Perhaps in many cases, the fact that the cop may be a callous asshole makes it easy to have this emotional disconnect. In other cases, the cop may just be an otherwise considerate individual who has the ability to block out the emotional aspect of what he/she is doing and see themselves merely as an instrument of the law. I tend to think that most considerate people couldn't deal with the amount of unpleasant confrontations that are routine for cops. And after all, unpleasant confrontations make up a very large bulk of police work.